JP2005343089A - Image formation system and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation system capable of enhancing a printing efficiency of an accumulation document job. <P>SOLUTION: In the image formation system in which a host 1 and an image forming device 2 are connected through a network, the image forming device 2 is equipped with a controller 11 which issues to an engine unit 14 under the state of saving energy a control command which compulsorily urges the release of the energy-saving state at the time of receiving from the host 1 the accumulation document job once accumulated in a nonvolatile memory 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system in which a host and an image forming apparatus are connected via a network, and an image forming apparatus constituting the system.

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming system in which a host and an image forming apparatus are connected via a network and print data created by the host is output to a sheet by the image forming apparatus has become widespread. In such an image forming system, when the image forming apparatus receives a stored document job without actual print output on paper from the host, the job can be saved by simply storing the job in a large-capacity nonvolatile memory. Some engine units did not control anything.
Note that techniques related to the image forming system include those disclosed in the following patent documents.
JP 2000-2012266 A JP 2000-307774 A JP 2002-247257 A

Therefore, for example, in a confidential document, even if the user only stores the document and immediately tries to print the stored document in front of the device, the engine in the energy saving state starts to return at the timing of the printing operation. Eventually, the user had to wait in front of the equipment until the engine returned from energy saving, and was forced to waste time.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming system and an image forming apparatus that can increase the printing efficiency of stored document jobs.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, in an image forming system in which a host and an image forming apparatus are connected via a network, the image forming apparatus temporarily stores a stored document job in a nonvolatile memory. The main feature is an image forming system including a controller that issues a control command for forcibly canceling energy saving to an engine unit that is in an energy saving state when the command is received from the host.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the first aspect, when transmitting the stored document job, the host designates whether or not the engine unit immediately cancels energy saving upon reception. It has the means.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the second aspect, before the host transmits the stored document job, the image forming apparatus receives a stored document job and starts a return process from the energy saving state. Means for designating a time-up time.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the second aspect, the host starts the return processing from the energy saving state after the image forming apparatus receives the stored document job before transmitting the stored document job. It has the means to specify.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming system according to the second aspect, the host has means for transmitting only a command for returning from the energy saving mode to the image forming apparatus.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

In the present invention, when the stored document job such as a confidential document is received, the energy saving engine unit is restored, so when the user comes to the image forming apparatus immediately after sending the print data and prints the stored document, It is possible to obtain a printing result by returning to energy saving earlier than the conventional machine.
In addition, when sending print data, the user can specify whether or not the image forming device will return to energy saving when receiving a stored document job such as a confidential document, so only when it is necessary to cancel the energy saving of the engine unit. Can be leveraged to be done.
In addition, when the print data is transmitted, the user can designate a time-up time for the engine unit to start the energy saving return after the stored document job is received by the image forming apparatus, so that the document stored in the image forming apparatus is printed. Therefore, it is possible to schedule an appropriate energy-saving return of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the convenience of the user himself / herself to go to the front of the image forming apparatus.
In addition, since the user can specify the time when the image forming apparatus starts the engine energy saving return when sending the print data, the user himself / herself goes to the front of the image forming apparatus in order to print the document accumulated in the image forming apparatus. It is possible to schedule an appropriate energy-saving return of the image forming apparatus according to convenience.
In addition, since the user can instruct the image forming apparatus to cancel the energy saving from the host independently of the print data transmission, the user can adjust his / her own printing job for jobs other than stored document jobs. Command can be issued, and the time to wait for energy-saving recovery in front of the image forming apparatus can be eliminated.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This image forming system is configured by connecting a host 1 typified by a personal computer or the like and a printer (image forming apparatus) 2 via a communication cable 3. The host 1 transmits job data to the printer 2 via the communication cable 3 that is physically connected.
The printer 2 includes a controller 11, a panel 12, an HDD 13, and an engine unit 14. The panel 12 is a main user interface unit including a display unit that displays print information stored in the printer 2 and a password input screen, and a switch unit that commands various operations such as password input.
The HDD 13 is a large-capacity nonvolatile memory that holds print information that has been subjected to job development. The engine unit 14 creates and develops an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member by a video signal and a control signal from the controller 11, feeds transfer paper from a paper feed unit, transfers and fixes, and forms an image. .
The controller 11 receives and develops the job sent from the host 1, enters the print data management queue on the RAM 24, converts the video data from the top of the queue, and finally outputs it to the engine unit 14. It is a general term for control mechanisms that are configured with the following modules.
The host I / F 21 is an interface unit for receiving job data from the host 1 to the printer 2. The CPU 22 processes data from the host 1 according to the program in the program ROM 23. The program ROM 23 stores a main program for managing data in the controller 11 and controlling peripheral modules such as the panel 12, the HDD 13, and the engine unit 14.
The RAM 24 is a work memory used when the CPU 22 processes, a queue for managing and temporarily storing data from the host 1 in units of print data, a page buffer for managing and temporarily storing in units of pages, and data stored in the page buffer. It is converted into an actual print pattern and used as various storage areas such as a bitmap memory for storing print data. The panel I / F 25 is an interface unit with the panel 12. The HDD I / F 26 is an interface unit with the HDD 13.
The RTC 27 is a module (Real Time Clock) having a clock inside. The engine I / F 28 is an interface unit for transmitting and receiving signals such as a control signal from the controller 11 to the engine unit 14, a status signal from the engine unit 14 to the controller 11, and a video signal from the controller 11.

(Example 1)
In the first embodiment, when a stored document job that is temporarily stored in the HDD 13 without being printed out like a confidential document is received from the host 1, a command that prompts the engine unit 14 to cancel (return) energy saving at that time. After that, the previous stored document job is stored in the HDD 13.
(Example 2)
In the second embodiment, when the stored document job is transmitted on the host 1, it is specified whether or not to cancel the energy saving immediately upon reception. The controller 11 receives the stored document job and performs the same processing as in the first embodiment if there is an instruction on whether or not to immediately cancel the energy saving at the time of reception as the job parameter. The stored document job is stored in the HDD 13 without being issued.
(Example 3)
In the third embodiment, when an accumulated document job is transmitted on the host 1, the time until the energy saving cancellation is started after reception is designated. The controller 11 receives the accumulated document job, acquires time information until the start of energy saving cancellation as its job parameter, starts counting time, and accumulates the previous accumulated document job in the HDD 13. When the time is up, the time measurement is terminated, and a command for prompting the engine unit 14 to cancel (return) energy saving is issued independently of the stored document.
Example 4
In the fourth embodiment, when the stored document job is transmitted on the host 1, the time for canceling the energy saving is designated. The controller 11 receives the stored document job, acquires the energy saving release time as the job parameter, and then stores the previous stored document job in the HDD 13. The RTC 27 issues a command for prompting the engine unit 14 to cancel (return) energy saving independently of the stored document when the designated time for energy saving cancellation is reached.
(Example 5)
In the fifth embodiment, a button that can transmit an energy saving cancel command to the printer 2 is provided separately from the print data. When the button is pressed, the controller 11 receives the energy saving cancel command and issues a command for prompting the engine unit 14 to cancel (return) energy saving as it is.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. This configuration is a copying machine 100 as an image processing apparatus, and a contact glass 206 is provided on the upper surface of the copying machine 100. Further, an automatic document feeder (hereinafter simply referred to as ADF) 201 is provided at the upper part of the copying machine 100, and this ADF 1 is connected to the copying machine 100 via a hinge or the like (not shown) so as to open and close the contact glass 206. Has been. The ADF 201 separates documents one by one from a document tray 202 as a document placing table on which a document bundle composed of a plurality of documents can be placed, and faces the contact glass 206 from the document bundle placed on the document tray 202. The separation / conveying means that conveys the original and the document conveyed toward the contact glass 206 by the separation / conveying means are conveyed / stopped to a reading position on the contact glass 206, and the copy disposed below the contact glass 206 The document that has been read by the reading means (known exposure lamp 251, mirrors 252, 255, 256, lens 253, CCD 254, etc.) 250 of the machine 100 is unloaded from the contact glass 206. The paper feed motor is driven by an output signal from the controller. When the paper feed start signal is input from the copying machine 100, the controller drives the paper feed motor in the forward and reverse directions. When the paper feed motor is driven in the forward direction, the feed roller 203 rotates in the clockwise direction so that the uppermost original is fed from the original bundle and conveyed toward the contact glass 206. When the leading edge of the document is detected by the document set detection sensor 207, the controller rotates the paper feed motor in reverse based on the output signal from the document set detection sensor 207. This prevents subsequent documents from entering and prevents separation.

Further, when the document set detection sensor 207 detects the trailing edge of the document, the controller counts the rotation pulse of the conveyor belt motor from this detection point, and when the rotation pulse reaches a predetermined value, the controller By stopping the driving and stopping the feeding belt 204, the document is stopped at the reading position of the contact glass 206. Also, when the trailing edge of the document is detected by the document set detection sensor 7, the controller drives the paper feed motor again, separates the subsequent document as described above, and conveys the document toward the contact glass 206. When the pulse of the paper feed motor from the time when the original is detected by the original set detection sensor 207 reaches a predetermined pulse, the paper feed motor is stopped and the next original is put on standby. When the original stops at the reading position of the contact glass 206, the original is read and exposed by the copying machine 100. When this reading and exposure are completed, a signal is input from the copier 100 to the controller. When this signal is input, the controller drives the conveyor belt motor to rotate forward, and the document is transferred from the contact glass 206 by the conveyor belt 216. It is carried out to the discharge roller 205.
As described above, a document bundle placed on the document tray 202 in the ADF 201 with the image surface of the document facing up is pressed from the top document to the contact glass 206 when the print key on the operation unit is pressed. It is fed to a predetermined position. The fed original is read by the reading unit 250 after the image data of the original on the contact glass 206 is discharged to the discharge port A (discharge port at the time of reverse document discharge) by the feeding belt 204 and the reverse driving roller. Further, when it is detected that there is a next document on the document tray 202, it is fed onto the contact glass 206 in the same manner as the previous document.

  The transfer sheets stacked on the first tray 208, the second tray 209, and the third tray 210 are fed by the first sheet feeding unit 211, the second sheet feeding unit 212, and the third sheet feeding unit 213, respectively, and are conveyed vertically. The unit 214 is transported to a position where it abuts on the photoreceptor 215. The image data read by the reading unit 250 is written on the photosensitive member 215 by the laser from the writing unit 257, and a toner image is formed by passing through the developing unit 227. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive member 215 is transferred while the transfer paper is conveyed by the conveying belt 216 at the same speed as the rotation of the photosensitive member 215. Thereafter, the image is fixed by the fixing unit 217 and conveyed to the paper discharge unit 218. The transfer paper conveyed to the paper discharge unit 218 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 219 when the staple mode is not performed.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  1 host, 2 printer (image forming apparatus), 3 communication cable, 11 controller, 12 panel, 13 HDD (nonvolatile memory), 14 engine unit

Claims (6)

  In an image forming system in which a host and an image forming apparatus are connected via a network, the image forming apparatus receives an accumulated document job that is temporarily stored in a nonvolatile memory from the host when the engine unit is in an energy saving state. An image forming system comprising a controller for issuing a control command forcibly urging energy-saving cancellation.   2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the host has means for designating whether or not to immediately cancel energy saving when the engine unit receives the stored document job when transmitting the stored document job. Image forming system.   3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the host designates a time-up time from when the image forming apparatus receives a stored document job to when it starts recovery processing from an energy saving state before transmitting the stored document job. An image forming system comprising:   3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the host has means for designating a time at which the image forming apparatus starts a recovery process from the energy saving state after receiving the stored document job before transmitting the stored document job. A featured image forming system.   3. The image forming system according to claim 2, wherein the host has means for transmitting only a command for returning from the energy saving mode to the image forming apparatus.   An image forming apparatus comprising the image forming system according to claim 1.

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